This steam wagon was made in England and used by Rockdale Council, in southern Sydney, as part of the equipment for making and reparing roads in the 1920s. It was a great improvement on the horsedrawn vehicles then in use as it could haul approximately four times the load. It was used to cart various materials including rock, blue metal and blocks of sandstone curbing for road building and surfacing within the municipality.

From the late nineteenth century to the first decade of the twentieth century the steam wagon was the accepted machine for road haulage in the 5 ton and over class and a serious challenge to its internal combustion engine rival. However after the considerable use of motor lorries by the British Army during World War I and the subsequent surplus at the end of the war, the popularity of the steam wagon began to diminish.

The Museum's overtype steam tip wagon was built in 1920 by the English company famous for their road rollers, Aveling & Porter of Rochester in Kent. It has builder's number 9247 and is known as a Type FGR. The steam wagon was dispatched from London to Rockdale Council and operated there in conjunction with several horsedrawn tip wagons and a steam roller.

The steam wagon was operated by a qualified driver who had both a driver's licence and steam ticket. He was aided by an "offsider", usually a labourer, who not only shovelled out the load but helped the driver stoke the firebox and grease and oil the wagon. Daily coke consumption was about five 70 to 80 pound bags which were carried on the canopy roof. The 150 gallon water tank would last about two to three hours depending on the work. It then needed to be refilled from fire hydrants in the street, if water was laid on, or from creeks if working out of town. The steam wagon was in operation on the road five days per week but on Saturday mornings remained in the council depot where the firetubes were cleaned out and the oil reservoirs filled.

In about 1924 Rockdale Council ordered two new steam wagons made by the Sentinel Wagon Works at Shrewsbury, England. These were undertype wagons with vertical boilers and were a great improvement on the Aveling & Porter wagon as they used less coke and operated at a higher speed. In about 1926 Council sold the steam wagon to Mr W. Duguid for use on his property at Mt Pleasant, near Thirlmere, NSW. It was used for hauling timber, pulling out tree stumps and driving machinery on the farm until 1946 before being discarded for a conventional tractor.

The Museum was informed of the wagon's location in 1962 and after an inspection by staff members the owners agreed to donate the wagon. However, the problem of transporting it had to be overcome as the wagon had been left abandoned on a hillside which was unapproachable by a low loader as it could only be reached via a narrow unmade road with a hairpin bend. It was necessary to repair the wagon sufficiently to enable it to be steamed down the mountain under its own power to reach the low loader.

Once safely in Sydney, the steam wagon was placed in storage until 1984 when it was restored to steaming condition and displayed in the Transport exhibition of the Museum from 1988 until 1999. It has subsequently been steamed at various rallies in New South Wales and Victoria. Of the 292 Aveling & Porter steam wagons built between 1909 and 1925 only four are known to survive worldwide.

Margaret Simpson

Kelly, Maurice A. "The Overtype Steam Road Wagon", Goose & Son Ltd, Norwich, England, 1971.

Clark, Ronald H., "The Development of the English Steam Wagon", Goose & Son Ltd, Norwich, England, 1963.

Simpson, Margaret, 'The Restoration of an Aveling & Porter Steam Wagon', in "Steam Restorer: N.S.W. Steam Preservation Co-op Society Ltd", Vol. 15 No.1, March 1985.

In the late nineteenth century and the first decade of the twentieth century the steam wagon was a serious competitor to its internal combustion engine rivals. Prior to the First World War, steam wagons were the accepted machines for haulage in the 5 tons and over class.

The first steam wagon, known as a "steam cart", was designed by P.J. Parmiter, a manufacturer of agricultural implements at Tisbury, Wiltshire, England, and patented in 1880. In 1898 Parmiter's design was manufactured by Messrs Mann and the pioneer overtype steam wagon was born. The manufacture was influenced by the passing of the 1896 Motor Car Act and the subsequent trials held by the Liverpool Self-propelled Traffic Association. From these trials emerged a distinct variety of steam wagon, which although popular for twenty-five years, were made only in Britain. The vehicle was known as an 'overtype' wagon, because the engine was mounted on top of a short locomotive boiler, in a similar manner to a traction engine.

This steam wagon was built in 1920 by Aveling & Porter Limited at their Invicta Works, at Rochester, Kent, England, with builder's No. 9247. The Aveling & Porter company was renowned for its invention and manufacture of road rollers, of which this Museum also has an example.

The company was founded by Thomas Aveling who was born at Elm, Cambridgeshire, in 1824. As a young man he moved to Kent where he founded a small agricultural engineering business in Rochester, in 1850. The first traction engine made in his works appeared at the Leeds Show in 1861, and in 1865 he produced the world's first road roller constructed in its familiar form. Progress in design was rapid, and within a decade the general steam roller appearance was accepted.

In 1862, Thomas Aveling was joined in partnership by Richard T. Porter and the company was then known as Aveling & Porter. Like many other traction engine builders, Aveling & Porter entered the wagon business and despatched their first overtype steam wagon on 1909. Two models were offered, the type FGR 3- ton wagon, whose payload was later increased to 3-4 tons, and the type FGP 5-ton wagon. The Aveling wagon followed the usual overtype configuration, with a 3-ton locomotive boiler. One interesting constructional detail of these boilers was the elimination of crown stays in the firebox. This was achieved by tying the inner and outer flat crownplates by rows of screwed stays.

The first tipping body supplied by the company was mounted on the wagon that had works No. 7951, dispatched in 1913. This was a manually operated screw type. On 3 August 1915 Aveling introduced their first hydraulically operated tipping system in wagon No. 8618.

In all 292 steam wagons were built by Aveling & Porter and production of wagons ceased in 1925. Twelve of them were erected from parts supplied by Avelings to Messrs Richard Garrett Ltd of Leiston when the two firms were embraced by the abortive Agricultural and General Engineers Ltd combine. The works numbers of these twelve were consecutively 9270-9282 less No. 9281. The final wagon built at Rochester, No. 11111, had a boiler made by Garretts and was delivered on 14 January 1925. The last wagon sent out was No. 9452 on 30 November 1925.

The decline and eventual cessation of steam wagon manufacture was largely influenced by the choice made by the British Army during the First World War to employ mostly internal combustion engine motor lorries. Some of these were built in Britain and some in America. The advantages of these motor lorries were that they were lighter, used less bulky fuel, required less attention for operation and were easy to get on the move at short notice. After the war, surplus motor lorries became available in Britain at low cost.

Of the 292 Aveling & Porter steam wagons built only four are known to survive.

The museum's steam wagon was despatched to the Municipality of Rockdale, in Sydney, by the shipping agents James Pollock, Sons & Co. Ltd of London and went into service for Rockdale Council. The steam wagon was said to have been driven by Bill and Roy Chaplow and operated in conjunction with several horse-drawn tip wagons carrying various materials for road construction and surfacing in the municipality. The load carried included rock for road foundations from numerous quarries in the district at Banksia, Arncliffe and Rockdale; blue metal railed from quarries at Prospect and Bombo; and sandstone curbstones each weighing three hundredweight. The curbstones were rolled up into the wagon tray at the quarry, driven to the road site and then carefully skidded down planks onto a bed of straw to prevent breakage.

The steam wagon was operated by a driver who had both a driver's licence and steam ticket. He was aided by an "offsider", usually a labourer, who not only shovelled out the load but helped the driver stoke the firebox and grease and oil the wagon.

The driver's day began at about 6.30 a.m. as it took about an hour to get the wagon steamed up and ready at the job site by 7.30 a.m. Firstly, the coal in the firebox had to be raked out from the night before and the fire started with kindling. After a while heavier wood was applied and finally fine coal of about three quarters of an inch to one inch grade. Once the wagon was under way the fuel was changed from coal to coke, which was mostly used for the rest of the day. Daily coke consumption was about five 70 to 80 pound bags, which were carried on the canopy roof. A bag of coal was also taken to heat up the fire if the wagon remained idle for a couple of hours. The water level in the tank was checked and topped up if necessary at the council yard. One 150 gallon tank would last about two to three hours depending on the work. The tank would then have to be refilled from fire hydrants in the street, if water was laid on, or from creeks if out in the country.

The steam wagon was only on the road five days per week and on Saturday morning it remained in the council depot where the firetubes would be cleaned out and oil reservoirs filled.

In about 1924, Rockdale Council ordered two new steam wagons made by the Sentinel Wagon Works at Shrewsbury, England. These were undertype wagons with vertical boilers and were a great improvement on the Aveling & Porter steam wagon as they used less coke and operated at a higher speed.

In about 1926 Council sold the steam wagon to Mr W. Duguid for use on his property at Mt Pleasant, near Thirlmere. The wagon was transported by rail to Thirlmere and driven the last four miles to the property. Mr Duguid had been a marine engineer and kept the wagon in good order. He used it for hauling timber, pulling out tree stumps and driving machinery on his farm until 1946, before discarding it in favour of a tractor.

The Museum was informed of the wagon's location in 1962 and after an inspection by staff members the owners agreed to donate the wagon. However, the problem of transporting it had to overcome as it had been abandoned on a hillside which was unapproachable by low loader as it could only be reached via a narrow unmade road with a hairpin bend. It was necessary to repair the wagon sufficiently to enable it to be steamed down the mountain under its own power. Three members of staff travelled to Mt Pleasant and over two days brought the wagon to operable condition. The water tank was repaired in several places, surface rust removed from all moving parts, valve covers removed and valves and spindles cleaned and oiled. The boiler inspection cover was refitted with a new gasket, the water tank and boiler were filled with water and a hydraulic test to 80 p.s.i. was carried out on the boiler. The boiler did not show any leaks and the water drained from the boiler to the correct level for a steam test.

The following day the wheels were jacked up and railway sleepers were placed underneath the wheels in readiness for a steam test in which the pressure was raised to 90 lbs per sq inch. The wagon was finally ready and the journey was made successfully down the mountain. The staff members were greatly relieved once the hairpin bend had been negotiated and the wagon had reached the low loader in one piece.

The wagon was placed in storage until 1984 when it was restored to steaming condition and displayed in the Transport exhibition of the Museum from 1988 until 1999. The wagon has been steamed at various steam rallies in New South Wales and Victoria.

Steam wagon, tip, overtype, metal/timber, Aveling & Porter Limited, Invicta Works, Rochester, Kent, England, 1920.

The steam wagon is an example of an overtype steam wagon in that it has a traction engine locomotive-type boiler with the cylinders and valve gear mounted on top of the boiler. The boiler is a Belpaire locomotive type which operated at a maximum steam pressure of 200 p.s.i. It is fitted with Aveling patent safety-valves and mountings. The engine features compound cylinders and slide valves controlled by Stephenson-Howe link motion. The link motion and the drive to the road wheels is taken through countershaft gearing to a long roller chain which drives the rear axle via a differential gear. The rear wheels are perforated and staked (steel strips diagonally riveted on to act as "tyres". The steam wagon has two road speeds with gears to reduce the top speed from 6.3 m.p.h. to 5 m.p.h. The two-way tipping mechanism is hydraulically operated and is controlled by a three-way cock on the output side of the standard Aveling feedwater pump.

The steam wagon was ordered from the manufacturers without a body, which was subsequently constructed in Australia. The tip tray is spotted gum finished in dark grey and was probably lined with steel to enable rock and gravel to be carried. The canopy over the cab extends over the cylinders almost to the chimney, and paint-impregnated canvas was applied to the roof of the canopy to protect it against the weather. The wagon is finished in green and black.

Specifications

Type: FGR
Builder's No. 9247
Boiler Test No. 8273
Cylinders: compound, bores 3.75 inch (95 mm) and 6.125 inch (155 mm)
Boiler heating surface: 52 sq. ft. (4.8 sq. m)
Boiler grate area: 2.73 sq ft. (0.25 sq. m)
Water tank capacity: 130 gallons (590 litres)
Rev. per minute: 300 (31.5 radians per second)
Weight empty: 6.6 tons (6.6 tonnes)
Working pressure: 200 p.s.i. (1 378 kPa)
Brake Horse Power: 20 .5
Wheelbase: 13 ft 6 in (4.1 m)
Track: 6 ft 8 in. (2.0 m)
Speeds: 2.18 m.p.h. & 5 m.p.h. (3.5 km/h & 8 km/h)

Made: Aveling and Porter Ltd; Kent, England; 1920


Owned: Rockdale, New South Wales; 1920 - 1926

Owned: Thirlmere, New South Wales; 1920 - 1926

On the exterior of the steam wagon is 'AVELING & PORTER' on the front and 'MUNICIPALITY / OF / ROCKDALE' painted in white on both sides.

B1509

1920

2200 mm

2000 mm

6100 mm